London Bridges

Chapter 29: Without You

Two Years Later:

Liam's lips leave a trail of fire across skin as he makes his way down Louis's bare torso.  He knows what it does to Louis; how it drives him mad with desire.  Three years later and he could still make the other man lose his mind with just a ghost of a touch.  He can hear Louis's desperation in the hitch of his breath, he can see it in the way Louis grinds his hips up, searching for contact Liam takes pleasure in denying.  Fuck, Louis moans out, the same quiet swears that fell from his mouth when they were kids fooling around in a tiny hospital bed.  The profanity used to make blood rush to Liam's face in embarrassment, now it makes the blood rush to his pants, his arousal growing by the second.  They're older now, more experienced.  They've been through every kind of shit life could throw at them, and they came out of it together each time.   Liam's never loved anyone more.  He's about to put them both out of their misery, pulling Louis's pants down to finally get his mouth on him.  Something is distracting him, though, an incessant beeping in the back of his mind that's giving Liam a bloody headache.  Then Louis is pushing him off, telling him to get up in a voice that's much too high and irritating.

Liam wakes up with a start.  He's sweaty and confused, not to mention he has a raging boner that's on just the wrong side of painful.

"Liam, we're going to be late for the tasting."

Those words, that voice, its all Liam needs to go soft and get back to reality.  Disappointment quickly recedes into frustration and guilt.  He can't believe he's still having wet dreams about Louis, he hasn't even seen the man in two years.  He's supposed to get married at the end of the month for fuck's sake.

"Liam, did you hear me?  Are you sick?"

"No," Liam says, shaking his head to clear the images of blue eyes and wispy auburn hair that used to tangle perfectly between his fingers.  "I'm fine, sorry.  Just was having a bad dream or something"

Danielle looks at him, a knowing smile across her too thin lips.  "Just pre-wedding jitters," she says.  "You'll shake it off once everything is finalized and you're on your lads trip."

Liam forces himself to smile back at her, unable to say that those jitters are actually a deep pit of dread in his stomach that only gets worse as their nuptials get closer.

"You have to come."

Louis rolls his eyes from under the bonnet of an old Ford Anglia.  He doesn't know why anyone would bother paying to fix the heap of junk, but at least he's getting business.

"Niall, we've been having this argument for  weeks, I'm not going to my ex fiancee's wedding.  Now go do some work, yeah?  What the fuck am I even paying you for?"

"To sit around and look pretty," Niall quips back.  "Otherwise all the customers would be scared away by your fucking mug.  Anyway he's more than just your ex, he's our best mate."

"I haven't seen him in two years," Louis reminds him.  "That hardly classifies as a best mate."

"Well whose fault is that?  He's been to London asking for you plenty of times."

"He's also been all over the press claiming I was just a phase of teenage rebellion."

Niall scoffs.  "Nobody believes that shit, and you can't really blame him for it.  Liam was alone in Wolverhampton for a long time after you left.  Then his dad woke up out of the blue, and it was the only way the old bastard would let Liam hold on to the company."

"I don't need an explanation, Niall," Louis sighs.  "And I don't blame him for anything, it was all me.  That doesn't mean I'm going halfway around the world to watch him marry some bird."